Page 84 of Chaos at Westbrook High

“No.”

“No?”

“I’m not riding to school with you.”

The slow smirk he hits me with might as well belong to the devil himself.

“I hate you,” I tell him again.

Driving through the school gates, Kai slows the car down and parks in his usual spot next to Damon. “Whatever you say, beautiful.”

Working my jaw, I subtly look around while I undo my seatbelt. Everyone is looking at us, at me, sitting in the passenger seat of their king’s car, and it’s not hard to figure out what they’re all thinking. I mean, they wouldn’t be wrong but shit. I should have fought him harder.

“You touch this when you’re nervous.” Kai takes my hand, running his thumb over my daisy tattoo before lifting it to his mouth to kiss it.

I pull my hand away. “I’m not nervous.”

“Your hands are shaking, Hailey.”

“That’s because I’m fighting the urge to slap you.” I twist around to grab my bag out of the back seat before I climb out of the car.

Laughing, he jogs around to my side before I can ditch him, wrapping his arm tightly around my middle, ensuring I can’t get away.

“If you make a scene, I will slap you.”

“Baby, you’re the one making a scene.” He dips his head, nudging my hat up to look into my eyes.

My nostrils flare. “Just let me go.”

“No,” he says, the infuriating asshole.

We stare at each other for what feels like ages. He waits me out, chuckling to himself when I slap my hand into his and dig my nails into his knuckles, pulling him over to where his family waits for us. As I fall in line on Damon and Callie’s left, I look sideways at Wren, who’s smiling to himself as he looks between me and his twin brother.

“What do you look so smug about?” I mutter. “I’m not walking with you by choice.”

He doesn’t stop smiling as we walk in through the main entrance. “Does she lie to you a lot?”

“All the time,” Kai answers.

When we get to our lockers, one of the senior girls stands on the other side of the hallway, lifting her phone as if she’s about to take a picture of me. She falters when she realizes I’ve caught her, dropping the phone to her side before she scurries away from us.

“Ignore them,” Kai says quietly, closing his locker before crowding my space from behind. “They’re just jealous.”

“Jealous of what?”

“You.”

I scoff. “Are you always this full of yourself?”

“Yes.” Turning me around, he pushes me back against my closed locker, trapping me in the same position he did on my first day here. He towers over me, running his hands around to my back to slide them into my back pockets. “Fuck, I love your ass in these jeans,” he whispers, pulling my lower half into his. “I want to fuck it.”

Scorching heat blazes through me.

Students start to filter away as the first bell rings, but Kai doesn’t move. Instead, he kisses me like no one’s watching, but they are watching, and I’m the dumbass letting him do it, melting against his skilled mouth.

God, what is he doing to me?

After longer than I’d like, I come to my senses and break the kiss, pulling my phone out when it rings in my pocket. I see my brother’s name on the screen and hesitate. I don’t want to talk to him in front of them, but he hasn’t called me in almost a week. Something could be wrong. I answer it and press the phone to my ear. “Der?—”

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